A full offseason under second-year strength coach Preston Greene resulted in big strength gains for two key Florida forwards.

Senior forward Erik Murphy is up to 238 pounds, while junior forward Will Yeguete is at 240 pounds. That added bulk should help both players in the post in the rough-and-tumble Southeastern Conference.

“It’s gonna help me a lot especially on defense in the post, offensively to be able to post up, holding my ground,” said Yeguete, who added his foot is back at 100 percent.

Yeguete got a jump on UF’s strength and conditioning plan when he suffered a broken foot that kept him out of the NCAA Tournament. That carried over into the summer through Greene’s unorthodox training methods.

“We were pushing trucks, flipping tires, running around with a boxing bag,” Yeguete said. “It was crazy but we got through it. We all got better, we all got bigger and I think it’s going to help us this season.”

Murphy, who was 218 pounds when he arrived on campus as a freshman, said he has put extra time in the weight room during the offseason.

“It will help a lot, down low especially, banging,” said Murphy, who averaged 4.5 rebounds per game last season. “That’s something that’s always been a little bit of a struggle for me.”

About This Blog

Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.